FlyAway Posted July 27, 2011 Posted July 27, 2011 Rats nest of wires overhead? Try on the ground! Gives you a different definition of "Poor" in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Sibbick Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 If I am in the Philippines at the same time as you, I will be happy to show you some slums.I don't know why you would need a guard. I have been into many slum areas and never felt unsafe. I had an ex girlfriend who I bought a "house" for in Basak Pardo, Cebu City. She was paying P500 per month for her room which included the electricity for lighting. I bought it for her for P2000, only to discover that she had a Filipino boyfriend who lived with her there too!Here is an old video of the squatter area near where my ex wife used to live.http://www.philippines-experience.com/videos/squatters.wmvI don't have video of the "basketball" court off P. Del Rosario Street in downtown Cebu City but I wish I had. There was an Englishman who said to me that he wanted his eyes opened. So I took him to the basketball court. It is the Cebu City wet market in the day time and there really is a basket ball court in the middle but is is a huge slum with karaoke bars, drug dealers, pimps, prostitutes, a huge garbage dump, religious shrines and filth. I asked the Englishman what he thought after his visit and he told me he was in shock!However, I you want a guard, I disagree about the pricing. P150 to P200 per day is what I would expect to pay a full time live in guard where you also supply their accommodation and all their meals. If you only want a guard for a short term assignment, expect to pay a lot more. Here is a security guard firm in Cebu if you want to contact them for a quotehttp://www.bluebreedsecurity.com/ Regards: Jim Sibbick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Lee Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 I believe that a lot of us who live, or lived in first world countries have a very different idea of what the slums might be. Many poor people live in places in the Philippines that we might consider slums but if they are in some form of house then it might not be an actual slum area. I have seen people living in cardboard boxes and some in lean-to's and yet others just sleeping on the ground, so that would be more my idea of an actual slum area, where those that live there have to scavenge through garbage etc to find something to sell for food, or something to eat. One such place is the Garbage dumps in Manila. There are many degrees of poor in the Philippines, but the poorest of poor seem to live a terrible life that I would not wish on an animal, or my worst enemy. My heart goes out to those people and I only wish there was something I could do to help the many that need it. HERE is a site with lots of photos, below are just some I picked out. It would be great if more of us tried to help the poorest of the poor. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 And another "outcasts of humanity" living and working in a Manila cemetery. Credits goes to Boss Manfor this story: http://www.philippin...indpost&p=25444Respectfully -- Jake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeatmanila Posted October 8, 2011 Posted October 8, 2011 (edited) Well, i have a very different opinion about squaters and the people who live there. I do live besides Payatas and i pass through this area two three times per day.Yes poverty, yes unbelievable scenes but my soul gets no guild neither feels all the soft feelings.I asked a couple of guys from that area to work on my construction, they asked 800p/day, triple the amount of the unskilled construction worker. I wondered why they ask so much. They explained it, him self his wife and three kids make about 1000-1200p/day by collecting waste, and selling the goods. He is the one who supervises them and help the entire family business (what a business...). If he comes to work for me then his wife will take over but since the kids are still young (ranging from 5 to 9) their income will be reduced so in order to make the same he has to be paid 800p/day. No need to say i was astonished with a mouth wide open out of surprise.In a drinking session at my home with my workers i asked the head worker how comes and they do not go at payatas collecting waste instead of sweating on construction. He replied, "boss these people are lucky, they have work every day, they work as long as they like, no one is supervising them, if they do not like to go to work they do not go, they make much more than we do. If we try to go there to work they can even kill us for taking their jobs, too dangerous for us."And to put the cherry on the pie they attract all the organizations for kids and poor etc etc giving them free food and to the big bosses the huge amounts to have their lavish life. Guess where these money comes from? From people of all around the world who feel sorry and want to help. They do not know the well hidden truth, they only help an ill practice (of child labor and expoitation) to keep on going and growing due to the unbelievable profits of it.The outskirts of my subdivision is unspoiled nature and rivers. No one was living there. When the subdivision grew, suddenly one day we see in the distance a settlement of squaters, the officials went there, they wonder how comes these people moved there. They replied we are here because is closer to our works, your market and your houses, the services we provide you. they were offered low cost housings in some parts of the subdivision for 1000p/month rental so they live out of the danger of the river. They replied why shall we pay when we live for free, our nipa huts are cooler than the cement houses. If the river gets high tide ok we pack and move until it settles again, if the nipa hut is gone, one day and we make another. Since we are not stealing neither hurting you, let us be here. So it happened.Sad stories here PLENTY no mama no papa no food no shettler no school no no no....I hear nothing no more!!!!! Edited October 8, 2011 by joeatmanila 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canada1 Posted October 8, 2011 Posted October 8, 2011 I went into the basketball court with a filipino friend and wow it was way beyond surreal .A maze of skinny tunnels kind of like walking threw everyones front room ..The best part was the look on the locals faces when they seen my white face lol many young girls ,ladyboys,shabu smokers ,scary place to be on a sat night ..We did more of a fast walk threw in one side out the other before anyone could come up with a plan . I was really surprised on how big the area is and the amount of people living there ..It totally was worth the risk to see it but would I do it again at night NO WAY .. It was a huge eye opener for me and rattled me for a few days . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve & Myrlita Posted October 8, 2011 Posted October 8, 2011 I went into the basketball court with a Filipino friend and wow it was way beyond surreal .A maze of skinny tunnels kind of like walking threw every ones front room ..The best part was the look on the locals faces when they seen my white face lol many young girls ,lady boys, Shabu smokers ,scary place to be on a sat night ..We did more of a fast walk threw in one side out the other before anyone could come up with a plan . I was really surprised on how big the area is and the amount of people living there ..It totally was worth the risk to see it but would I do it again at night NO WAY .. It was a huge eye opener for me and rattled me for a few days .Welcome to the "REAL" Philippines my friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted October 12, 2011 Posted October 12, 2011 (edited) Out on Samar, as of yet, I have not seen any organized squatter labor or mass jobs for them. Mostly a fishing town that has grown a lot and so far, no real bad elements like what is found in Manila. I guess poor is not really poor in some areas. We have the same problem in the US with some welfare class people in that they are born into the system and learn to manipulate the system and then expect 'help' for the rest of their lives. When offered a way out, they decline as it is outside their comforte zone and they actually have to act like responsible people. What a lot of American do not realize is those success stories of the (usually) black woman with 6+ kids going back to school and getting a degree is not really accurate. There is a whole support system build around helping them to not fail, so their stories can be used to generate more cash grants from the government. There is a schedule of a out of sight person who calls them to get out of bed in the morning, arrainges day care for the kids, help for school work and more. Very similar to a 12 step program where the person is paired with a 'keeper' to manage their schedules. While you and I and all the Fil-Ams understand school starts at 8, NOT when you get there, and a job starts at 7:30, NOT when you get there...... these people have never followed a schedule before and it is a real struggle for them while we think nothing of it. 8am is 8am! Be there! Is a concept they don't seem to grasp. Once born and raised into a situation of poverty, even with money, they still act like undiciplined people. So it is better, if an effort is to be made, get to them when young enough to make a postive change in their lives. No real hope for the older ones..... Edited October 13, 2011 by Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekimswish Posted October 12, 2011 Posted October 12, 2011 I saw a 4 part documentary about the lives of the poor and innovative in Lagos, Nigeria, and the first episode was about the garbage dump scavengers. it was a super interesting look at the city, and especially the lives at the dump. Can't explain it much, except to say that you never woulda thunked it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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